Cricket Injuries and Chiropractic

If you have suffered a cricket-related injurythe ISIS Chiropractic Centres can help you.

The treatment is effective for sprains, strains and muscle injuries regardless of the cause.

﻿Chiropractic treatment is not the same asphysiotherapy, which is why many high-level cricket teams now have Chiropractors as part of their support team working alongside physiotherapists and sports medicine doctors.

We have a different approach to make sure you recover fully from your injury.

Here at the ISIS Chiropractic Centres we are aware of the injuries that both professional and amateur cricket players sustain.

We have had the pleasure of helping both the Northamptonshire County Cricket players and many local amateurs in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire.

Here at the ISIS Chiropractic Centres we also have a strong belief in pre-habilitation, which means doing rehabilitation before the injury, and therefore prevent injuries.

We can perform special functional tests that will identify if you have a weakness or lack of coordination that makes you vulnerable to injury. But that is not all, dealing with the underlying problems often also lead to you seeing an increase in your performance.

Injury Risk in Cricket

Although the risks of injury have been shown to be lower in cricket than contact sports such as rugby or football, the risk of a an injury is still a real treat to any cricket players' career. The repetitive and one-sided nature of the sport often give rise to injury to the joints, ligaments and muscles.

As with many sports, cricket injuries fall into two categories: traumatic and overuse.

Therefore, more and more cricket teams use Chiropractic to keep their payers off the bench with injuries.

Playing time varies a lot in cricket, from up to 3 hours for twenty20 up to 35 hours of playtime for games lasting a number of days.

Whilst it is unusual for games to last for more than one day unless you are playing professionally, club players often play multiple matches per weekend with training and evening games during the week.

The longer the match lasts the more the ligaments and muscles are under duress, making injuries more likely.

Types of Injuries in Cricket

Traumatic injuries usually result from direct blows from a
heavy fast moving ball onto the body. However, the most significant
cause of traumatic injury is through bowling due to the large rotational
and compressive forces provided through the foot, ankle, knee, hip and low back region.

Overuse injuries
build over time and are the result of the combined negative effects of a
mildly traumatic action that is repeated over and over again.

This is
most common with bowlers due to the repetitive nature of bowling,
but batsmen also suffer repetitive injury most notably from standing in
the same posture for long periods at a time as well as a tendency to
always play the same shots.

Low back pain that results from regular net training session are an example of overuse or chronic injury. The injury usually starts as a niggling discomfort with increasing pain developing over time.

It is also common for an overuse injury to develop into an acute traumatic injury where a succession of micro-traumas weakens the area making it more susceptible.

Sudden sprains, muscles and ligament tears often occur in this manner and are more common the longer the game is played.

Muscles such as the hamstrings, abductors or calf are
usually most commonly affected, whereas the joints of the low back,
shoulder or the sacro-iliac region are most common.

Rapid
stopping, starting and changing direction also places stress onto the
knees and ankles. This is part and parcel of a bowlers’ action and
cannot be avoided but can be reduced through developing a
biomechanically efficient bowling action.

The structure of the
knee means a ligament injury is most common, with anterior cruciate
ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and medial collateral
ligament (MCL) strains, ruptures and tears, the most common. Both the ACL and PCL can be injured or torn by a sudden stop, start and twisting of the knee joint.

Meniscalinjuries (cartilage discs that sit in between the femur and
tibia) also commonly occur as a result of twisting, pivoting,
decelerating or a sudden impact.

Rotation of the ankle often cause
sprains to the talo-fibular or deltoid ligaments and can be caused by
rolling over on the ankle particularly if the bowlers footholes have
become deep and uneven.

Batting, Fielding and Bowling

Given the nature of cricket, many activities can give rise to injury. Amongst the three main disciplines, batting, fielding and bowling, there are a number of ways in which injury can occur.

Whilst batting, apart from the obvious running related injury mechanism, there is the risk of being hit by the ball being bowled on an area where protective gear is not worn and also the risk of straining muscles when overstretching to reach the pitch of the ball.

Whilst fielding, running around the field also provides a risk for injury, particularly in the event where a run-out can be achieved if the action of fielding is provided quickly. In addition to this, blows from the ball travelling at speed can inflict injury, as can poor fielding technique, or inappropriate landing when diving in the field and throwing injuries.

The largest risks of injury however, are duringbowling due to the increased stress the body is put under during the bowling mechanisms. In particular, compressive forces during fast bowling particularly through the lead leg where forces of up to 10 times the bowlers body weight can be placed through the knee and hip as the delivery of the ball is made.

Significant torsional forces through the lead knee when bowling spin also occur leading to further risk of injury.

Injury Prevention in Cricket

It is important to remember, as with any sport, that prevention is better than cure!

Warming up and stretching properly before and after any sport is vital to reduce injuries, especially in the frequently affected muscle groups.

Pre-habilitation is the way forward, let us know if you want to have a functional examination to identify any weak links or lack of coordination that makes you vulnerable to injury.

Often, subtle differences in the way you move can place more stress on the joints of our body. The best way to minimise the chances of an injury taking place is to ensure your body is working optimally.

Your Chiropractor will be able to assess how your joints and muscles are working, and identify any areas that could potentially lead to an injury. We will then help to address the problem and to strengthen the areas; working with you to ensure your body is functioning as required.